I have lived through the Chartist Riots, the Irish Famine, and the Cotton Famine, which tried the endurance of our artisans in the manufacturing districts, and caused in the minds of statesmen and of every thinking man the great apprehensions as to its bearing upon the industry and wealth and happiness of the country. I have lived through periods of war—the Crimean War, when the thoughts of everyone were directed to our Army in distress barely holding its own through that dreadful winter—and the Indian Mutiny. All these incidents in the life of a nation answer to the troubles and afflictions in the life of the individual. We have survived the troubles which faced us, and how can I do more than say that thoughts such as these remind us of our duties as Citizens, as individuals, as members of the great community, showing us how much we have to be thankful for and how much we are dependent on circumstances. * * * * * FINIS. [Picture: Map of Whittlesey Mere, from “Fenland Notes & Queries.”] FOOTNOTES {5} The pagination in the book cannot be followed for the illustrations in some cases as they appear on their own pages in the middle of random paragraphs. In such cases the illustrations have been moved onto the following page, and the pages numbers in the list of illustrations have been changed accordingly. The filenames for the illustrations are their original page numbers.—DP.